Radio age research, manufacturing, communications, broadcasting, television (1941)

.MK development of an ultra-fine calcium carbonate. "What takes place when jrlass is polished?" was one of the questions facing the \V. F. and John Barnes Company. Its scientists also sought to find those characteristics which affect the polishing power of ma- terials such as cerium oxide, rouge, and rare-earth oxides. Answers to these questions were found in the study of particles with details ap- proximately 1'50,000 of an inch in diameter—too small for any other type of microscope to reveal. Aid to Customer Service Godfrey L. Cabot, Inc., one of the instrument's more recent users, has installed the Univer.sal model of the electron microscope in its Boston laboratories for increased service to the rubber, paint, ink and other industries using Cabot carbon black. Its scientists use the micro- scope both for research and as a part of the customer .service pro- gram which it has followed for many years. Each day the Com- pany's manufacturing plants, lo- cated in areas thousands of miles from Boston, send samples of their output to the Cabot Electron Micro- scope Laboratory. After the sam- ples are photographed, the resulting micrographs are available for cus- tomers as a part of descriptive spec- ifications. Such customer service is MARY MARTIN. OF THE LABORATORY STAFF OF GODFREY I,. CABOT. I.VC. BOSTO.N, STUDIES MICROCiRAI'HS OF CAR- BON BLACK PARTICLES OBTAINED WITH A.N RCA ELECTRON MICROSCOPE. DR. F. A. HA.MM "FINGERPRINTS' DYED NYLOiN WITH THE LATEST MODEL RCA ELECTRON MICROSCOPE IN.STALLED IN THE RESEARCH LABORATORIES OF (JEN- ERAL A.NILINE AND FILM CORPORATION. an invaluable business asset. Taste, texture and appearance of many familiar food products are being improved with the aid of this powerful electronic "super eye". At General Foods Central Research Laboratories, scientists have found answers to many problems that have baffled food technologists for years. The physical and chemical changes which are exerted on natu- ral foods as they are processed can now be viewed through the micro- scope. By greatly increasing the range of research in many fields, the RCA electron microscope is helping in- dustry to plan tomorrow's products. This is evident from the Libbey- Owens-Ford development called Electrapane. Ordinarily, glass pro- vides high resistance to electric current, but Electrapane is a glass that conducts current. Libbey- Owens-Ford research achieves this anomaly by coating glass with an invisible, microscopic film. The Company's scientists carefully study specimens of experimental conduct- ing films under the electron micro- scope, which clearly reveals the crystalline film structures formerly invisible under light microscopes. Makes By-Product Profilahle Another case of how this remark- able instrument is helping develop jiroducts for the future is illus- trated in an article which appeared recently in Life magazine. The U. S. Rubber Company used the RCA electron micro.scope in the develop- ment of a new and better starch, made of tiny plastic particles. The new liquid plastic, which keeps clothes starched through eight washings, doubles the life of gar- ments. This is an interesting ex- ample of how a by-product has become extremely profitable for both the manufacturer and the .American housewife. The lasting shade of her nylon (Continued on page 26) ^ r-^ar^ Sl ' /* THREE TYPICAL EXAMPLES OF ELECTRON .MICROSCOPY MADE POSSIBLE BY THE RCA ELECTRON MICROSCOPE. LEFT TO RIGHT: FORMATION OF PEARLITE IN STEEL; SVMPLE OF FACE POWDER MAGNIFIED l.T.OOO TIMES. AND DUST PARTICLES WHICH CAST THEIR SUBMICROSCOPIC SHADOWS AFTER AN ENLARGEMENT OF 24,000 TIMES. [RADIO AGE 111